Days after Jadavpur ragging death, 3 arrested, SFI says no to CCTV in hostel

In a tragic incident that shook everyone, a first-year undergraduate student at Jadavpur University died in suspicious circumstances on August 9. The 17-year-old student was allegedly under severe mental and physical trauma due to ragging in the hostel. 

What happened

According to the police, the student was heard uttering, "I am not gay" before he fell from the second storey of the JU Boys' Main Hostel building around 11.45 pm on August 9. The student was found lying naked under the hostel balcony. The blood-soaked body was rushed to the KPC Medical College, where he was declared dead at 4.30 am on the next day (August 10).

The student took admission to the Bangla department at the university a week ago and attended his classes on Wednesday. 

According to the deceased's family, he spoke to them about him being excited about his classes, but was uneasy about living in the hostel and urged them to take him back home to Nadia district.

According to ANI, a PIL has been filed in Calcutta High Court, in connection with the death.

A PIL has been filed in Calcutta High Court, in connection with the death of a student of Jadavpur University.

— ANI (@ANI) August 14, 2023

ALSO READ: Opinion: Through hell and back in Jadavpur University

Investigation is on

• A letter, dated August 10 and addressed to the "Dean of Student" was discovered in a diary belonging to the deceased first-year student. This letter is being examined by the police to establish its authenticity and intent. 
• The letter in the yellow diary had mentions of a senior who would make juniors do stuff. The senior would threaten to throw them off the rooftop if they did not adhere to their demands.
• The letter also said the deceased was told by this senior that students at the hostel were ‘weed addicts and smoked a lot’, a police officer involved told the media.
• During interrogation, a senior, Sourabh Chowdhury, confessed his involvement in the ragging incident that resulted in the tragedy, a senior police official said.

Jadavpur University case: Cops to quiz detained student. India Today's Anirban Sinha Roy shares details #ITVideo #WestBengal #JadavpurUniversity | @AnirbanSinhr @Akshita_N pic.twitter.com/RohUNIspte

— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 12, 2023

• According to the police, the deceased was harassed mentally and ragged by Chowdhury, a former MSc Mathematics student of Jadavpur University. He was arrested, as he was the prime accused.
• According to the police, Chowdhury, a 2022 passout continued to live in the hostel, long past the completion of his degree.
• Two more students were picked up by the Kolkata Police in relation to the incident. As per India Today, these two individuals were present at the scene when the ragging incident took place. The two arrested accused have been identified as Deepsekhar Dutta (19) and Manotosh Ghosh (20) from Economics and Sociology departments respectively.
• "We have arrested three people, including two students of the university and one ex-student. The investigation is being supervised by the highest level of our officers. Joint CP (Crime) has personally been going to the police station, examining the students and other people from university authorities. DCP (SSD) has visited the spot and Jadavpur police station personally. Our officers from the homicide section of the detective department are also involved in the investigation. We have formed a post-mortem board with the help of FSL," Vineet Goyal, CP, Kolkata Police, told India Today.

According to reports, the deceased didn't initially get a seat in the main hostel. After a meeting with Sourabh Chowdhury, he got a place in the hostel and began staying there as a guest of Manotosh Ghosh.

A case of theft

Even as the hostel death is being investigated, students at JU's GC Memorial Hostel alleged that early Sunday (August 13) morning, unidentified people managed to steal two laptops and four mobile phones from rooms on the ground and second floors.

According to the students, the thefts occurred while they were asleep and they voiced their request for enhanced security measures to be implemented in the hostel.

JUTA takes note

In a note distributed among teachers, the Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA) conveyed their concerns against ragging and said “the common people will hate teachers” if they are silent spectators to ragging or “indirectly support” students involved in “unjust” protests to save the guilty.

Outsiders?

The prime accused's overstay at the hostel and the theft has also flagged the involvement of outsiders and illegal residents.

POCSO being considered

• The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR) has announced its intention to invoke the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in relation to the event.
• WBCPCR Chairperson Sudeshna Roy has highlighted the preliminary idea that the case may fall under the jurisdiction of the POCSO Act, considering the student's age is below 18 years. However, the commission is currently awaiting a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) to make an official recommendation.
• The commission has scrutinised documents pertaining to the student's age and is in the process of determining the events that transpired on the evening of August 9 in the hostel premises.

Roy emphasised, "Going by the chain of events, as narrated, leading to the death of the minor, prima facie we have reason to suggest that it be dealt with under POCSO." She has written to the Governor of West Bengal, CV Ananda Bose, who is also the Chancellor of Jadavpur University, requesting an inquiry and necessary actions.

The WBCPCR advisor, Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborty, posted on social media, urging not to reveal the victim's name, given that he is a "POCSO victim (minor)."

CCTV row

Following a debate on the absence of ample CCTV cameras on the JU campus, several students, mostly from the Students Federation of India (SFI) opposed the installation of cameras on the campus and the hostel, The Telegraph reported.

Although they acknowledged the death as an unfortunate event, they feel more cameras would increase the institutional surveillance of students, undermining their privacy.

The Jadavpur university unit of SFI( student wing of CPIM) is still opposed to the idea of installation of CCTV cameras in the university campus and hostels.

What exactly do they still want to hide? How long will their blackmail politics continue?

Pic courtesy: @ttindia pic.twitter.com/5pG7c2rw9F

— Sourav || সৌরভ (@Sourav_3294) August 14, 2023

UGC anti-ragging cell asks for a report

The deputy secretary of the UGC anti-ragging cell has requested Jadavpur University to provide the investigation findings of the complaint by Monday (August 14).  According to JU authorities, the findings from the committee established by the university to investigate the death will also be forwarded to the UGC.

While investigations continue, the university authorities' responsibility is under scrutiny. Questions have been raised about the presence of unauthorised residents and lax security measures.